From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of
endorheic basins , watersheds which do not drain to the sea.
Major endorheic basins of the world. Basins are shown in dark gray; major
endorheic lakes are shown in black.
Africa
Chott Melrhir (Algeria)
Chott Ech Chergui (Algeria)
Chott el Hodna (Algeria)
Tidikelt Depression (Algeria)
Tunisian salt lakes (Tunisia)
Qattara Depression (Egypt)
Siwa Depression (Egypt)
Lake Chad Basin (
Cameroon , Chad, Niger,
Nigeria )
Western Equatorial Crater Lakes (Cameroon)
Makgadikgadi Pans (
Botswana )
Northern Eastern Rift (
Djibouti ,
Eritrea ,
Ethiopia )
Lake Chew Bahir , Ethiopia, Kenya
Chalbi Desert , Kenya, Ethiopia
Lake Logipi -
Suguta Valley (Kenya)
Lake Turkana Basin (
Ethiopia ,
Kenya )
Southern Eastern Rift (Kenya, Tanzania)
Lake Rukwa (Tanzania)
Lake Chilwa (
Malawi )
Lake Chiuta (Malawi,
Mozambique )
Etosha Basin (
Angola ,
Namibia )
Okavango Basin (Angola,
Botswana , Namibia, Zimbabwe)
Antarctica
Australia
A false-colour satellite photo of Australia's
Lake Eyre Image credit: NASA's Earth Observatory
Eurasia
Caspian Sea Basin (
Armenia ,
Azerbaijan ,
Georgia ,
Iran ,
Kazakhstan , Russia, Turkey,
Turkmenistan ) including the
Volga River .
Aral Sea Basin (
Afghanistan ,
Kyrgyzstan , Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan , Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan ) including the
Syr Darya and
Amu Darya rivers.
Lake Balkhash Basin (China, Kazakhstan)
Emin Valley (China, Kazakhstan)
Issyk-Kul ,
Son-Kul and
Chatyr-Kul lakes (Kyrgyzstan)
Dzungarian Basin (China)
Uvs Nuur basin (
Mongolia , Russia)
Great Lakes Depression (
Mongolia , Russia)
Tarim Basin (China)
Gobi Desert (China, Mongolia)
Hulun Lake (China, Mongolia), sometimes overflows into the
Argun River , a tributary of the
Amur
Tibetan Plateau (China)
Torey Lakes (Russia)
Turpan Depression (China)
Sistan Basin (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan)
Hamun-e Mashkid (Iran, Pakistan)
Hari River, Afghanistan (Tedzhen River) (Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan)
Murgab River (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan)
Iranian Plateau (Iran)
Lake Urmia (Iran)
Lake Van (Turkey)
Central Anatolian lake basins (Turkey)
Syrian Desert Basins (
Syria ,
Jordan ,
Iraq ,
Saudi Arabia )
Arabian Peninsula (
Saudi Arabia ,
Iraq ,
Jordan ,
United Arab Emirates ,
Oman ,
Yemen )
pluvial
Sea of Galilee and
Dead Sea Basins (Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon ,
Palestinian Territories , Syria)
(India)
Neusiedlersee (Austria)
Lake Trasimeno (Italy) --
cryptorheic
Laguna de Gallocanta (Spain)
Estany de Banyoles (Spain)
The
Lasithi Plateau in
Crete , Greece --
cryptorheic
Lake Chany , Russia
North America
Endorheic basins in the
Great Plains
Devil's Lake (Wisconsin) --
cryptorheic
Great Divide Basin (
Wyoming )
San Luis Closed Basin (
Colorado )
Crater Lake (
Oregon ) --
cryptorheic [
citation needed ]
Great Basin
[1] (
California ,
Idaho ,
Nevada , Oregon,
Utah and
Wyoming )
Oregon Lakes (California, Oregon)
North Lahontan Basin (California, Nevada, Oregon), a system of endorheic sub-basins connected with
pluvial
Lake Lahontan
Bonneville Basin (Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming), a system of endorheic basins connected to
pluvial
Lake Bonneville
South Lahontan Basin (California, Nevada), draining into pluvial
Lake Manly in
Death Valley
Central Nevada basins separate from the Bonneville and Lahontan systems
Disjunct
Colorado River tributaries
Willcox Playa (
Arizona )
Zuni Salt Lake (
New Mexico )
Tularosa Basin (New Mexico,
Texas )
Guzmán Basin (Chihuahua, Mexico, southwestern New Mexico)
Bolsón de Mapimí (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas, Mexico)
Llanos el Salado (Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas, Mexico)
Valley of Mexico (Federal District, Hidalgo, Mexico, and Tlaxcala, Mexico)
Oriental Basin (Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz, Mexico)
Lake Pátzcuaro (Michoacan, Mexico)
Lake Cuitzeo (Michoacan, Mexico)
Lago de Atitlán (
Guatemala )
Frame Lake ,
Yellowknife ,
Northwest Territories , Canada
South America
Islands
Ancient
Some of Earth's ancient endorheic systems include:
The
Black Sea , until its merger with the Mediterranean
The
Mediterranean Sea and all its tributary basins, during its
Messinian desiccation (5
mya approximately) as it became disconnected from the Atlantic Ocean.
Ebro and
Duero basins, draining most of northern Spain during the
Neogene and perhaps
Pliocene .
Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Currently at an overflow level and therefore draining into the sea via the
Lukuga River , but the lake level has been lower in the past, possibly as recently as 1800.
Tularosa Basin and Lake Cabeza de Vaca in North America. Basin formerly much larger than at present, including the ancestral
Rio Grande north of Texas, feeding a large lake area.
References
^
Houghton, Samuel G. (1994). A trace of desert waters: the Great Basin story . Reno: University of Nevada Press.
Africa
Thieme, Michelle L. (2005). Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment . Island Press, Washington DC. pages 24–25.
"Cameroon Crater Lakes", World Wildlife Fund
[1]
Australia
Eurasia
"Freshwater Fishes of Iran: Drainage Basins"
[2]
North America
"Watersheds" map in the North American Atlas
[3]
Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment . Island Press, Washington DC. pages 26–29.
South America
Olson, D., Dinerstein, E., Canevari, P., Davidson, I., Castro, G., Morisset, V., Abell, R., and Toledo, E.; eds. (1998). Freshwater Biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean: A Conservation Assessment. Biodiversity Support Program, Washington DC., pages xiv–xv, 24–26.